Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of installed device drivers, their version number, and their date? -- SH
Hey, SH. You know, as we’re writing this column the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is in full swing. But don’t worry: despite the fact that this year’s opening round...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell if a computer has a SmartCard reader attached? -- TE
Hey, TE. Um, we hate to be rude, TE, but we’re closed today; we only answer questions Monday through Friday. We’d be happy to help you out, but you’re going to have to come back on – what’s that? It is Monday?...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell if a computer has a DVD drive installed? -- GC
Hey, GC. No doubt you’re hoping we’ll say something like, “Why, you just use the Win32_DVD class, of course.” Unfortunately, though, we can’t say that; that’s because there is no Win32_DVD class, or any class devoted...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In Device Manager, any time a device isn’t working that device is marked with a yellow exclamation mark. How can I use a script to get a list of the devices that aren’t working? -- OL
Hey, OL. Sometimes in baseball a batter absolutely hammers one, but the ball takes a lucky bounce...

In this post :
Using the Active Directory DirectoryEntry Class
How Can I Run a Script Whenever a New USB Drive Is Attached to a Computer?
Making a Specific Windows PowerShell 2.0 Script Work with Windows PowerShell 1.0
Can I Use VBScript to Distinguish Between Versions of Windows Server...

In this post :
How Can I Change the Internet Explorer Title Bar?
How Can I Create a Password Based on the User's First Name and Last Name?
How Can I Bail Out a For...Next Loop When the Number 15 Is Reached?
How Can I Modify an Executable File's Compatibility Check?
How Can I Check for...

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using Windows PowerShell and WMI to find a wireless keyboard or mouse attached to a system.
Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Yesterday, we had a great time at the Windows PowerShell user group meeting at the Microsoft Office in Munich...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell whether a file exists on any CD or DVD drive connected to a computer? -- GH
Hey, GH. Well, one way to do this would be to search the entire file system - including any mapped network drives - and check to see if a file (let’s call it Budget.xls) can be found anywhere...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell whether or not a computer has a CD named MyApps in it? -- CB
Hey, CB. You know, this is one of those questions that the Scripting Guys almost feel bad about answering. Why? Well, at first glance this sounds like it might be a really complicated problem to solve;...

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using two WMI classes from the root\wmi namespace to reveal additional HID hardware information.
Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Well, the Scripting Wife and I returned from Europe yesterday. It is good to be home, but we will miss...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine which USB devices are connected to a computer? -- WM
Hey, WM. If you watch a lot of TV - um, not that the Scripting Guys do; we spend our spare time reading the works of Shakespeare, solving differential equations, and otherwise tending to our many intellectual...

Summary : Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using Windows PowerShell to explore Windows audio drivers.
Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a problem with one of my computers—the audio driver is causing me fits. I would like to know if I can use Windows PowerShell to explore this issue....